Whitebeard vs. Akainu

"Not me?"

Rune frowned slightly and immediately thought of a possibility.

"You came for Luffy?"

Akainu did not answer, but Rune felt that this was probably the truth. To go to such lengths, and not for him, a member of the Whitebeard Pirates—then it could only be for Luffy aboard the ship.

Or Kuma.

If it was Kuma... Kizaru might not necessarily have reported the news to Marine Headquarters. But if it was Luffy, then it made perfect sense.

After all, Luffy was Dragon's son, and Dragon was the Marines' greatest enemy, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.

If that was the reason, then Marine Headquarters deploying an admiral was still understandable.

"Meteor Volcano!"

Akainu raised his hand, and magma spheres fell from the sky like a blazing meteor shower. Facing such an assault, Rune and Yamato both unleashed their own moves.

"Thunder Bagua!"

"Black Star!"

Rune could now condense a Black Star with a mere lift of his hand. Yamato's Thunder Bagua was also more than enough to completely suppress the Meteor Volcano that Akainu had casually unleashed.

But in the next instant, Akainu himself appeared before them.

Akainu also knew very well that unless he killed these two, he would never get to capture Luffy aboard the Thousand Sunny.

A blazing magma fist roared toward them. Rune gathered Conqueror's Haki and coated his fist with it as he met Akainu's punch head-on. Yamato swung A-Ken again, unleashing another Thunder Bagua.

Amid a thunderous boom, Rune and Yamato were sent flying more than ten meters away, while Akainu remained rooted in place without moving an inch.

A Marine admiral—perhaps even the strongest admiral in Marine history—Akainu's strength was beyond question.

Rune's fist trembled slightly, but excitement welled up within him. Once upon a time, he had been just a little brat whom even Marco could casually beat up.

But now, even if he was joining forces with Yamato—

He could take a frontal blow from Akainu, a Marine admiral!

Based on what Rune knew of Akainu, this man would never hold back. Yamato had been blown away and still needed to use Mirror Mountain to protect herself, which showed that Akainu's punch had definitely not been pulled.

Yet that punch had only made Rune feel pain!

However...

If the fight continued, Rune's stamina ultimately could not compare to that of a peak powerhouse like Akainu. He did not have a second Devil Fruit, and the Dark-Dark Fruit's doubled pain would also drain his stamina to some extent.

In a battle of this level, Rune's endurance was far inferior to someone like Yamato, who had eaten a Mythical Zoan Fruit.

As for defeating Akainu quickly...

With Rune and Yamato's current strength, it was simply impossible.

He was a Marine admiral, one of the titles that represented the strongest on these seas!

Just as Rune was considering how to break the deadlock, an overbearing presence suddenly appeared near the Thousand Sunny. Immediately afterward came Conqueror's Haki that felt intensely familiar to Rune.

"What kind of skill is it to bully children? Akainu, I'm your opponent!"

A domineering voice rang out across the sea. The next moment, Murakumogiri descended from the sky, carrying incomparable Haki. The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the might of Conqueror's Haki crashed down upon Akainu at the same time.

"Hound of Hades—"

Even Akainu did not dare take the attack of the world's strongest man lightly. Blazing magma collided with that force, and the entire island trembled.

Rune froze for a moment before joy immediately spread across his face.

"Pops!"

It took Rune only an instant to understand why Whitebeard was here. Kuma must have seen Akainu and noticed that Rune and Yamato had no intention of fleeing. Thinking it unsafe, he must have returned to the Moby Dick and brought Whitebeard over!

Then, in the next moment—

"Rune, how could we let you face something like this alone?"

Azure flames streaked through the sky as the Phoenix descended beside Rune. Marco smiled teasingly, using azure flames to heal the minor injuries on Rune and Yamato.

"Shining Crash!"

"Rose Flurry!"

Jozu's gleaming body slammed Akainu, who had been struggling against Whitebeard, and sent him flying. With no foothold in midair, Akainu was immediately cut open by Vista's twin blades, leaving countless wounds across his body.

Chunks of magma fell to the ground and slowly gathered together. When Akainu re-formed, his expression was terrifyingly grim.

He could not understand why the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates had arrived so quickly!

In truth, Akainu did not even know why Rune had arrived so quickly. By his estimation, even if Rune and the others could come, it should have taken at least a week.

Clearly, Kizaru had not told the other Marines that Kuma was still alive.

Kizaru and Kuma were friends, and he was happy to see his friend free from restraint and able to live freely. But in doing so, he had thoroughly screwed over his colleague Akainu.

"We're here. You two rest first."

Marco stood before Rune and stretched out a hand to shield him and Yamato behind him. Further ahead stood Whitebeard's tall, upright figure.

Though Whitebeard had not moved again, cold sweat was already running down Akainu's face.

If he only had to face Whitebeard alone, Akainu felt he still had some chance of winning. Perhaps he could prevail over the world's strongest man in a battle of attrition. But if he had to face the entire Whitebeard Pirates—

Akainu alone had absolutely no possibility of victory.

In an instant, Whitebeard moved.

Murakumogiri was coated in Conqueror's Haki and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Whitebeard leaped high into the air and viciously slashed down at Akainu on the ground. Faced with such an utterly unreasonable attack, Akainu could only gather magma once more, preparing to meet it with Hound of Hades.

Even if his chances were slim, Akainu could not simply sit and wait for death. When facing pirates, even the world's strongest man, Akainu would not retreat.

Running away was even more impossible.

However...

"Dark Erosion."

Rune looked at Akainu as strands of dark energy clung to his body. The Magma-Magma Fruit's power was instantly suppressed by the Dark-Dark Fruit.

At the same time, Whitebeard's attack followed close behind!

Akainu froze for an instant when his Devil Fruit power vanished, but he still mobilized all the Haki in his body in an attempt to block Whitebeard's attack. However, one side was defending in haste while the other was attacking with full force.

Moreover, Akainu was not stronger than Whitebeard to begin with. How could he possibly block this strike?

Blood burst forth as Akainu's chest was nearly split open by the slash. Under the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he immediately lost consciousness.

The towering figure collapsed to the ground, blood staining the earth red. Though that strike had not killed Akainu immediately, it had completely declared his defeat.